


What Other People Say

by ThoracicOrchid



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Awkward Dates, Banter, Bed & Breakfast, Divorce, F/M, Family, Fluff and Humor, Matchmaking, Normal Life, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Secrets, Starting Over
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:14:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoracicOrchid/pseuds/ThoracicOrchid
Summary: Vanessa Reed was a Star.They called her "America's Sweetheart."They said she had the perfect life.But unfortunately for her, she's about to find out that it doesn't really matter what other people say.
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island), Bobby McKenzie/Original Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 22





	1. Have a nice life.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here she is, she's ready to make her appearance. Celebrities... 🙄
> 
> I hope you love her as much as I do 🧡
> 
> Thank you to my Beta: FuseboxMusebox! You're amazing for listening to my crazy ideas! Fucking Beverly, I swear... 😉
> 
> Oh, we say fuck here.
> 
> I used to call my mom every Sunday  
> So she knew her love wasn't far away  
> But now I'm all fucked up out in LA  
> 'Cause I care more about what other people say  
> I used to not take chances with God's name  
> But it's been so long since I last prayed  
> And now I'm all fucked up and my heart's changed  
> 'Cause I care more about what other people say  
> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
> 'Cause I care more about what other people say
> 
> What other people say // Demi Lovato & Sam Fischer

It had taken one year, three months and eight days for Vanessa Reed to become a well known name in the homes of millions but it only took one night for it all to come crashing down around her. Her "perfect image" tarnished. God forbid the public find out she liked to have a good time. She used to be wild and loud, not the person she was supposed to be. In front of the camera she was the love interest, the sweet girl, the "one that got away." That's what the fans wanted and that's what she 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 to give them.

She wasn't sure what happened last night, but when they called her name for that silly award, something exploded inside her. Her mask shattered. She stood there, holding the little trophy like it meant something, and gave her speech about how she owed it to her parents, her friends, everyone in her life that had made an effort to get her to that stage, but the truth was, only two people had helped her achieve her success and she was one of them. The other, a thousand miles away.

The media would call it a mental break and maybe it was, but when the first shot hit her lips, it felt like freedom to her. Two shots, four shots, ten? Twelve? It didn't matter. Someone pulled her up on the stage and she danced and drank the night away. 

It was the morning after and she wasn't sure where she was. She knew she wasn't home, but other than that, she was drawing a blank. She tried to sit up but the whole world spun around her and she fell back into the mattress beneath her. The movement of her body caused the blue haired man who was sharing the bed, to open his eyes.

"Hey, girl." He smirked at her as he put his arms behind his head.

She heard his voice and groaned. "Felix?!" Her head was pounding. "How did I get here?"

He chuckled. "Couldn't keep your hands off of me last night. You were a wild animal."

Vanessa puked a little in her mouth. She couldn't believe she had managed to crawl back to him. She used to hook up with Felix when she first came to California, dumb and stupid and mostly high, but that had been ages ago. Her phone rang and without thinking, she answered it.

"Yeah?" She couldn't open her eyes yet.

"Where the hell have you been?! Ibrahim is pissed!" 

That made Vanessa laugh. Her husband didn't get pissed. He never showed any emotion at all.

"Elisa. Calm the hell down. I had a late night."

"Are you with Felix?!" 

"Please stop shrieking in my ear. I'm too hungover for your shit."

As a manager, it was Elisa's job to paint a perfect picture for her clients and Vanessa's wedding day had been nothing short of an arranged Hollywood marriage, she put on a fake smile, picked out a dress, said her "I do's" and signed the papers, including a sweet little pre-nup, and just like that, she had become Mrs. Ibrahim Asante, a Pro Golfer's wife. She hid behind her all too familiar fake smile and accepted her personal prison of wedded bliss. She seemed to be happy and in love and all the things she was supposed to be.

"I can't believe you fucked this up! You've only been married for six months! You know, the news is saying you've lost it."

"Married six months and he's been fucking that harpy in our guest room the entire time!"

Elisa scoffed at that. "At least he's in the house! God only knows where you are."

"Wow. Shame on me for having a night out of the prison cell." She finally opened her eyes and crawled out of bed. "So what now? I say a few 'I'm sorry's' and cry?"

"Vanessa. You don't get it. You partied. You drank. You 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. Honey, you're done. He's kicking you out."

"What?! Kicking me out? Why!?"

"There's pictures."

"Of what?!" She could not believe this. 

"Of you and Papa Smurf! You two were all over each other!"

A normal person would have been upset by that piece of information but not Vanessa. She hadn't cried in two years. Sure, she did on camera, but she had torn all emotion from her personal life. Being emotional was just messy and no one had time for that.

"I don't even know what happened, I can't remember anything."

"Well that's the problem, isn't it?"

She looked at Felix while Elisa droned on about what the gameplan was and where she should go. She heard the word rehab and flipped her shit.

"Hell no! I can't even have fun anymore!? Was this Ibrahim's idea?"

"If you go, he won't divorce you."

"Divorce? 𝘏𝘦 wants a 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦?!" She didn't expect that from him.

"Just come into my office. Be here in thirty." She hung up.

_____________

When she got to Elisa's office, huge sunglasses covering her bloodshot eyes, she was met with a tabloid being thrown at her face. She looked at the front and saw herself on the cover, hanging off of Felix.

"Vanessa Reed's secret man??" She shook her head. "Ibrahim's daily hell living with 'America's Sweetheart': he cries every night?" that made her laugh, "Who writes this shit?"

"This isn't funny, Vanessa." She took a valium, "This will ruin you. It 𝘩𝘢𝘴 ruined you."

"It was one night of celebrating! For the most part I've been good!"

"It doesn't matter. It's their call."

"But I'm Vanessa Reed! Women want to be me! Men want to be 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 me! I'm a goddamn star!"

Elisa laughed. "Well, you're still Vanessa Reed, but now, your next big project will be a reality show, like 'Dancing with the Stars.' Start practicing the tango, I can probably get you booked in about three years."

"Don't be so dramatic! Let me talk to him."

Elisa dialed Ibrahim's number and put it on speaker. He answered on the third ring.

"Elisa? Have you heard from her?" He was definitely pissed. 

"Hey, it's me."

There was silence and then she heard him let out a sigh.

"Are you going?"

"To rehab?! Are you fucking kidding me? This is the first time I've done something like this since we've been married, please..."

"No. You made me look like a fool. It's everywhere!"

She closed her eyes and tried to ease the anger she was feeling.

"Rahim.... I'm sorry." 

"Me too. But you know your options."

Vanessa stood up and screamed, throwing her purse across the room.

"Is this you talking or that fucking 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 that I know is there right now?!"

The truth was, she had agreed to have an "open marriage" not like she had a choice, Ibrahim had been seeing someone else when they got engaged. Deep down, like real fucking deep, she had hoped that they could make it work, but he hardly talked to her at all. They even had separate rooms. It was definitely not how she ever pictured her life but it offered financial security and that was more important than feelings, right?

"Leave Jo out of this."

"Why? She's been intertwined in our marriage since you asked me to marry you. How are we supposed to try and be together if–"

He laughed. The son of a bitch actually laughed at her.

"𝘉𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? I married you to secure your career and get myself more screen time."

Vanessa looked up at Elisa who just shrugged and lit a cigarette.

"Fine. But I'm not going to rehab." She crossed her arms, as if he could see her through the speaker.

"That's fine. Elisa has a drug test for you and my lawyer faxed over the divorce papers earlier. Have a nice life, Vanessa."

He hung up. That was it. She sat there in shock. She was getting a divorce at twenty nine. Unbelievable.

"Drug test!? What's that about?"

Elisa gave her a sad smile. "Your prenup states that if you use any drugs at anytime during your marriage, you get nothing."

"Elisa.."

"Like I said, you fucked up."

______________

"Nan, marry me."

Evelyn Bernice Rennell, known as Nan to everyone she met, just shook her head and laughed.

"You've been asking me that for over a year now, when will it stop?"

Bobby shrugged and grinned at her, "Whenever you say yes." 

He was eating her 'World' famous roast that was always the daily special at her bed and breakfast, Nan's Nook. She ran a tiny restaurant in the back.

Nan's grandson, Gary, made a disgusted noise and wiped down the counter. 

"Oh Gary, calm down!" She smacked him on his arm. "Bobby couldn't handle me." She winked causing Bobby to snort and Gary to yell.

"Ok! I've heard enough!"

Nan threw her head back and laughed, she loved embarrassing her grandson, that's what grandmothers did, right? 

"But seriously Bobby, when are you going to find a nice girl to settle down with, you're not getting any younger." She opened the glass display case and grabbed one of the cupcakes that he made daily for the restaurant. She slid the plate to Gary, "Table 3." She winked at him.

He looked over at the table and groaned. "Nan, stop playing matchmaker. She's.... weird."

"She's a nice girl and I need great grandchildren. Plus, what's weird about her?"

"She's just.... loud." Gary pouted. The girl in question was Chelsea, the town gossip. She was a sweet girl but had a flair for the dramatic.

Nan raised an eyebrow. "And you're not? Boy, I can hear you yelling half way across town. Take the cupcake to the girl."

Bobby snickered, he loved these people. When he first came to Bakersville he had been piss drunk, on his way to New York City, his buddy, Noah had offered him a job as a food critic for the 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴. Get paid to eat food and write about it? Yes, please. He left the party scene in LA and drove, it had been a two day drive fueled by alcohol and cigarettes but when he saw the lights in the distance, he stopped for gas and never left. He stumbled into the bed and breakfast at the insistence of the gas station attendant. Nan took one look at him, shook her head, poured a cup of coffee down his throat and told him to shape up because she needed help around her restaurant.

"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."

"𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬."

Bobby owed Nan his life and his sanity. She had been right on the money, he had just been floating by, but not anymore. With her help, he fell back in love with cooking, baking especially, and he was happy with his life. Noah had agreed to still give him the job and he just emailed the articles to him. Plus, he was only two hours away from the city so he could be there in person if absolutely necessary.

"Bobby?!"

He was pulled from his thoughts by Gary. 

"Sorry, what's up?"

"Could you get Table 5 some roast, Chelsea won't stop talking."

He laughed. "Sure thing, Romeo." He walked into the back and piled the plate high with meat and vegetables, Nan didn't care about portion sizes, she said, let them eat what they want. Gary always fought her on it but she always won because she reminded him that it was still her restaurant after all. Before he could take the plate out front he heard her on the phone.

Bobby stopped to listen, whoever she was talking to seemed angry. He could barely make out the cursing on the other end.

"Oh sweetie, you know you're always welcome."

"We can find something for you to do."

"Mistakes happen love, that's life."

"Ok, see you in a few days, Vanessa."

She hung up and sighed, coming into the kitchen. She looked at Bobby and broke into a grin.

"What?"

"Oh... nothing. We're going to have company for awhile."

"Oh, friend of yours?"

"Family." She left it at that and went up front. "Gary, come over here."

He got up from the table, thankful for an excuse to leave the girl who was still talking even after he'd made his way behind the counter. "What's up?"

"Your cousin's coming for a visit. A long visit."

"Vanessa?! Why?"

"Sometimes life goes left, Boy! Don't ask stupid questions."

"We just haven't heard from her in almost three years. She'll hate it here. I thought she disowned us anyway."

Nan slapped him on the back of the head, "I'll disown 𝘺𝘰𝘶 if you keep talking bad about family. She needs us."

As she walked away Gary rolled his eyes and looked at Bobby.

"Things are about to get interesting."


	2. You can't send me to my room!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮... 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦!"
> 
> "𝘖𝘬, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my Betas: Ashleigh (FuseboxMusebox) & Steph (Blueberry_Cupcakes) You two are amazing and I love you both! 🧡

Bakersville.

Vanessa Reed was in Bakersville and she couldn't believe it. Eight days ago, she was talking to a big time director about her latest movie. Six days ago, she was drinking champagne in Beverly Hills without a care in the world. Three days ago, she had signed divorce papers and jumped on a private plane, her last taste of her fading fame, and now she was sitting on a rickety bar stool listening to her cousin complain about ants in the kitchen. 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬.

"Gary. Please shut up. I have a headache."

"Then go to bed, this is a place of business."

Vanessa looked around the tiny restaurant, that held no customers. She rolled her eyes."Right. Business is just 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨."

He glared at her and she glared right back. Gary and her had been friends once, when they were younger. They would catch fireflies together and get lost in the woods behind her house for hours but when she left for LA, everyone in the family got jealous and never bothered to reach out. It pissed her off.

Before he could reply, Nan walked in, she was wearing her overalls that she had had for years and she had a basket full of flowers just picked from the back garden. 

"Vanessa! I didn't hear you come in!" She ran around the counter to hug her granddaughter. She laughed as Vanessa went stiff at the gesture. "Still afraid to show those emotions I see. You need to relax, sweetie."

"Nan, I do cry in most of my movies. Made a living that way."

The old lady scoffed. "I'm not talking about crocodile tears. I'm talking about giving a shit, those city people really ruined you."

𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦. The thought entered her head and she immediately pushed it out. All she had to do was wait it out in this tiny town while Elisa worked her magic. Nothing was guaranteed but Vanessa refused to believe that 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 was her life now.

"Oh, be a dear and put these flowers on the tables and then go on up to your room and get settled."

"I don't work here, have Gary do it."

Nan raised an eyebrow. "So how will you be paying for your room and meals? That bigtime Hollywood money? Let's see it." She knew Vanessa had nothing to her name now, thanks to one very revealing drug test.

"I don't..."

"Exactly. If you want a place to stay, you will earn it. Flowers. Now."

She sighed and grabbed the basket, Gary snickered behind her.

"Oh Vanessa, make them look pretty."

_____________

Chelsea shut the salon down for lunch every day, and every day she went to Nan's to eat. It was definitely not to see Gary, the fact that he was there was just a happy little coincidence. 

Blake was with her today and they were discussing the theme for her nursery. Blake was five months pregnant and she was in full baby planning mode. Chelsea not only did hair but she also helped out at Blake's boutique and she was the town's party planner/decorator. So it was only natural to ask for her help with the baby's nursery.

When they opened the door to the cozy little restaurant they were met with the familiar ring of the bell that sat above the door.

"Chelsea! Blake!" Nan ran over to hug them. 

"Nan! I'm craving your vegetable soup so bad! Please tell me you have it on the menu?" Blake's cravings had been all over the place with this pregnancy, almost changing every week.

"Who do you think I am? I always have some on hand. What about you Chelsea?"

"I'll have the roast, as usual." She grinned past the older woman towards Gary who escaped to the kitchen.

"One soup and one roast, coming right up!"

Gary groaned when he saw Nan beckon him to their table.

"What's wrong with you?" 

He forgot that Vanessa was here now, she was his blessing in disguise.

"Time to get to work. Table 2 needs a bowl of vegetable soup and a plate of roast. Chop chop." He went back out front telling them it'd be out soon.

Vanessa froze. She didn't know how to cook, she didn't know where table 2 was, she didn't know a damn thing about this place. She saw a pot on the stove that she did know was Nan's roast. She used to eat it every Sunday growing up. She grabbed a small plate and put some on it. 𝘖𝘬, 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱... 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱? She spotted the pantry and opened it. There was a can of vegetable soup right in front so she grabbed it, but she didn't know how to open a can, she paid people to do that.

She saw a knife on the counter and grabbed it, trying to use it to pry open the can. It wasn't working.

"Vanessa? Where's that order?"

She growled. "Hold on!"

In one last attempt she raised the knife in the air and went to stab the top of the can until someone grabbed her arm.

"What did that can ever do to you?"

She looked over to see a cute guy with short dreads and kind, amber eyes. He had freckles that dusted his face, the little bit of his chest that she could see had them too. A smile played on his lips as he laughed.

"Not sure violence is the answer here."

She blew out a breath and he released her. "It's not my fault. Damn thing won't open."

"Well maybe you should try a can opener?" He fought off another laugh. She was very upset at such an innocent thing and he didn't want to push her over the edge.

She grabbed a tray, put the roast on it, slapped a bowl, a spoon, the entire can and the knife on there and threw it in the window. "Table 2."

Bobby couldn't believe what he was seeing. This girl just served up a 𝘤𝘢𝘯 of soup...with a spoon and bowl...

"Uhh, no, that's not..."

Gary yelled at her. "Vanessa, I need you to take it to them, I'm busy!"

She huffed and grabbed the tray. "Table 2!? Who the hell is table 2?!"

You probably could have knocked Bobby over with a feather in that moment. He refused to believe that this girl was related to Nan or even Gary. He continued to watch her unable to do anything else.

"Oh! Pretty sure we're table 2!" Chelsea smiled and waved in her direction. 

Vanessa dropped the tray on the table between the two girls. "There. Enjoy." 

Before she could run back to the kitchen Chelsea grabbed her arm. "Uhm, excuse me..."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I 𝘢𝘮 Vanessa Reed." She posed and smiled down at the girls. "Autographs are fifty dollars and no pictures please."

Blake's jaw dropped. "Yeah... we don't want an autograph... but I'm sure Chelsea would like more than two bites of food and I know I'd prefer my soup to be outside of the can."

Bobby lost it. He bent over laughing hysterically, grabbing the door so he didn't fall down. This had to be a joke.

"You ok Bobs?" 

"Gary... look... look at table 2!" 

Gary looked at the group and muttered under his breath. "Jesus...Nan! We need some help!"

Nan didn't know what she just walked in to but it was nothing she had ever seen before. Vanessa arguing with Blake about how hard it was to open a can of soup, Chelsea looking frightened and trying to pay Vanessa some money for a "bigger portion of her meal", Gary trying to serve the other customers while yelling at Bobby, who was currently too busy bent over laughing to help him.

Nan raised her voice to a threatening level. "Everyone cool it!"

The entire restaurant went silent except for Bobby trying to catch his breath. Without another word, Nan grabbed Vanessa's hand and dragged her into the back office, slamming the door.

"I can't do this! I don't 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to!"

"Vanessa, I love you, but you are in for a rude awakening young lady!"

"Why? Because I'm not a simpleton? These people are pathetic. It's obvious they're star struck. I'm not even safe from my fans here."

Nan stared at her, she was serious. She really thought people liked her. She sighed and grabbed a picture of the desk.

"You remember her?" 

Vanessa looked away. It was a picture of her when she was around eight. Grinning with dirty clothes and holding up a fish. Her hair was in pigtails and she was missing a tooth. 

"That poor girl has no idea how boring her life was."

"You know what? Go to your room!"

"You can't send me to my room! I'm a grown woman!"

"You're a broke, rude, ungrateful girl and until you find my sweet granddaughter that I paid to get on that bus to LA five years ago, I don't want to see you!"

"This is absurd! I'll just leave!"

"Ok, leave. Where's your car? Where will you stay? How will you eat? The real world is a lot different than you think, sweetheart."

______________

Vanessa couldn't believe she had been sent to her room. She hated it here. She pulled out her phone to call Elisa but she had no service. 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭! She threw her phone across the room and laid back on the bed. The sheets weren't even Egyptian cotton. 

Someone knocked on her door and she ignored it. Unless they said they were room service they could rot in hell.

"Room service!"

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦??

She opened the door and frowned when she saw the guy from earlier. She thought Gary had called him Bobby. 

"You're definitely not room service. Why are you here?"

He smiled at her. "I actually 𝘢𝘮 room service though. Nan asked me to bring you dinner."

She stepped aside and allowed him to come inside. "You can put it on the dresser." She took out a packet of cigarettes from her bag.

"Uhh, Nan doesn't allow smoking."

She raised an eyebrow at him and didn't break eye contact until she lit the cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"What, you going to tell on me?"

He shook his head. "Nope. You're an adult. Just thought I'd let you know it's not allowed."

"So, what happened after I came up here? Were people mad?"

"No. Nan got Blake's soup for her and I got Chelsea a real portion size. All good."

"I meant about not getting my picture."

Bobby was confused. Why would someone want her picture? Sure she was famous but people around here didn't really care about that sort of thing. Chelsea 𝘩𝘢𝘥 asked for an autograph but that was it.

"No one wanted a picture, why would they?"

"Uh because I'm-"

"Vanessa Reed? Yeah, I heard." He smiled and chuckled to himself. "Well, have a good night... Nessie." He shut her door behind him and went downstairs where Gary was cleaning off the tables and stacking the chairs on top.

"Hey Bobby?"

"Yes, Nan?" He walked into the back office, leaning against the filing cabinet. "What's up?"

"Shut the door." Once the door was shut she blew out a breath and rubbed her eyes. "I need your help."

"Anything. You know that."

"It's... Vanessa."

Bobby sighed. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦... "Ok. What do you need?"

"She needs help. Whoever that girl is, it's not my granddaughter. She's lost and I need someone who understands that to be her friend." She looked at him sadly. "I know that's not fair to ask but I'm tired a lot these days and arguing with her doesn't help."

He thought it over. Vanessa was way worse than he had been; she was completely delusional. Used to people kissing her ass and never saying no, but it didn't matter what he thought, he'd do it because Nan was like his family and he owed it to her.

"What do you have in mind?"

She smiled at him and motioned for him to sit down. "I'm thinking maybe take her out. Treat her kindly. Break that shell. You know she's never been on a real date? It's not my place to gossip but she just fell off her pedestal and a nice guy might be just what the doctor ordered."

Bobby laughed. "Did Lucas say that?" He leaned forward. "Between me and you, I don't think he's a real doctor." He winked at her making her bust out laughing. Nan hated doctors. She said if it was her time to go, it was her time to go. No piece of paper framed on a wall would tell her any different.

"See! That's what I mean! Laughter heals everything. Especially a broken heart."

"You think she has a broken heart?" 

"Sweetie, I know so."

Before they could continue their conversation, there was a knock at the door and someone cracked it open.

"Ah! Speak of the devil!" Nan got up and hugged the tall man standing in the entrance.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Oh Lucas! I'm fine. No different than three days ago."

Nan had had a stroke two years ago and with her strong opinion on doctors, she refused to go in for regular checkups so Lucas took it upon himself to do a house call every few nights. She hated it but he told her the town would never forgive him if he allowed her to get sick again.

"Just humor me." 

Bobby watched as he performed the check up. When he had first come to town he immediately hit it off with Lucas, they were an unlikely pair but they joked like brothers and he was happy to have him around.

"Ok, healthy as a horse, or mule, considering how stubborn you are."

"Ha ha, don't leave, I have something for you." She left the office and went to the kitchen.

"Saw Blake today, she's glowing."

"Yeah, she told me. Apparently she got served a can of soup?" Lucas chuckled. "She was laughing so hard I couldn't understand her."

"Yeah, Nan's granddaughter, she's definitely never been in a kitchen before."

"The actress? I bet. Used to having things handed to her, good luck with that." He smirked.

Bobby groaned. "Yeah, thanks."

"Here we go!" Nan came back with a huge box of food. "I got three containers of soup in here, a dozen of Bobby's cupcakes and a box of chocolate chip cookies."

"Thanks Nan." He took the box from her. "This might last three days around Blake."

"When she needs more let me know. Well, you boys get home. It's late." She shooed them out the door and grabbed her phone.

"Hey, it's me."

"Well? How'd it go?"

"It went great! He said he'd do it!"

"Yessss, I'm so excited!"

Nan smiled. "Me too. They're perfect for each other."

_______________

When Bobby got home, he went straight to his laptop to check his emails. He didn't have his work email on his phone because then he'd never get anything done for Nan. His inbox loaded and sure enough, thirty two new emails just today. Most from restaurants inviting him to come review them. He loved how flexible his job with the paper was but he was in high demand because his column, McKenzie's Meals, was funny and personal and people couldn't get enough. He was scrolling through the requests when he saw one from his editor, Noah. Instead of reading it, he pulled his phone out.

"Noah. Saw your email."

"Bobby, you're supposed to respond to it. Not call."

He rolled his eyes. "This is quicker."

Noah sighed. "Fine. Is it true that Vanessa Reed is in that little town you live in?"

"Uhhh...." Bobby didn't know if it was supposed to be a secret or not.

"I'll take that as a yes. I need a favor."

"Why does this sound like a favor that I can't say no to."

Noah laughed. "Because you know me too well. We need her interview and you're going to get it."

"Am I? I'm not a reporter. I'm a food critic."

"Well, now you are. Congratulations! You've been promoted!"

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! I value each and every one of you. 🧡


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